Machines, such as fork lifts, wheel loaders, and backhoes, are frequently used in work environments to collect and transport loads. When operating these machines, it is often desirable to utilize auxiliary work implements or equipment with the machine, such as buckets, forks, and clamps, each of which assists the machine in performing work functions. When a machine uses multiple work implements, changing one implement out for another can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive process.
For example, in a forestry mill yard, a fork is often attached to a machine to collect and transport poles around the mill yard. The fork is able to move under the poles and support the weight of the poles when moving the poles in the mill yard. It can also be desirable to attach a bucket to the machine to clean up wood chips and other debris created during the milling process. It is inefficient and labor intensive for the mill yard to remove the fork and attach a bucket when collecting wood chips and debris is desired. After the wood chips and debris are collected, the bucket needs to be detached from the machine and the fork reattached, creating more inefficiency. The mill yard would save time and labor if the fork would not have to be removed from the machine every time the mill yard needed to use the bucket and then reattached after there was no longer a need for the bucket.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,412 to Daniel discloses a fork and jaw clamp attached to a machine. The tines of the fork have two sections, a horizontal section closest to the machine and an angled section that climbs away from the horizontal section. The angled section terminates at a tip that is above the horizontal section. However, because of the angled nature of the tine, the design is not conducive to use with a bucket because the bucket cannot rest flat on the tine. As a result, for the operator to use a bucket, the fork and jaw clamp would first need to be removed from the machine. To then use the fork and jaw clamp, the operator would need to remove the bucket from the machine and reattach the fork and jaw clamp. In addition, the pointed nature of the tip may damage the material the machine is collecting by scratching, gouging, or otherwise marring the material.
The apparatus of the present disclosure alleviates one or more of the deficiencies of the prior art.